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By Liza Viana for Intellectual Property Watch

The United States Senate voted to invoke cloture and limit debate on patent reform Tuesday night, with a vote of 93-5. The measure, HR 1249, the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, now will go to the Senate floor for debate and final passage; a vote could happen as early as Thursday.

Several amendments may be introduced, but Senate leadership is pushing the bill to be passed as is. One possible amendment is one by Senator Tom Coburn, an Oklahoma Republican, which would restore to the House bill the revolving fund, which would have made patent fees automatically available to the US Patent and Trademark Office without approval of Congress. Many industry groups and patent reform watchers want to ensure the USPTO has full access to all funds to effectively administer the patent process. The Obama administration supports HR 1249 but would like the USPTO to have the fullest discretion in how those fees are used. It’s feared the language in HR 1249 could facilitate some fee diversion to other non-USPTO uses, while the Senate version would do away with it altogether. The House and the Senate need to pass identical versions of the bill before it goes to President Obama for his signature.